Wednesday, March 14, 2012

More evidence that Republican climate theory is nonsense

Republicans these days, in their constant quest to be beneath contempt, are required to be ignorant of science or completely dismiss it. Consequently, they either (a) deny climate change, (b) deny that it's caused by greenhouse gasses, or (c) deny the human role in the accumulation of greenhouse gasses.

The Australian Broadcasting System has a wonderful science site that is free and that has very informative articles and videos illustrating many different aspects of research and discovery. You can reach the site by clicking HERE.

Today there is an article explaining exactly why the overwhelming majority of scientists believe that humans are mostly the cause for the buildup of the major greenhouse gas CO2 (carbon dioxide). Basically, it's the subtle variation in the presence of the different forms of carbon in modern plants, fossil fuels (made from ancient plants), and in the atmosphere now and in the past. The argument is clever, subtle, and convincing to those who are willing to read it without closing off their minds to a bit of quantitative thinking. The same article also explains why scientist also discount the role of volcanoes in the accumulation of CO2. Here is the article.

(Coincidentally, Rick Santorum, when asked about CO2 recently, said: ""Tell that to a plant, how dangerous carbon dioxide is." Well, as the above science article points out, scientists have actually asked plants, in a way, and the plants' response is that burning fossil fuels has increased the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere significantly.)

I guess this post is a little too late to be read by my evangelical followers in Alabama and Mississippi who gave important victories to Rick Santorum yesterday. No doubt digesting a bit of actual science would have made them more critical about Republican positions on climate science, thus lowering their turnout in the primaries and shifting the margin to Mitt Romney. I'm pleased that through this late posting I could do my part in helping the PTR advance the most absurd of its candidates, thus doing my small part in helping to re-elect Obama.

(Should Santorum actually become President, I will discontinue this blog since there would be no real point in doing anything except letting craziness play out its course.)